Learn how to use white-balance settings on your camcorder to ensure accurate colors, avoid unwanted color tints, and capture professional-quality footage.
Ever wondered about the white-balance setting on your camera? It is a feature that should be adjusted to make the colors in your images as precise as possible. At its simplest, it makes the whites in your image look just as white as they do in the real scene.
You might notice that some images come out with an orange, blue, or yellow tint that differs from what you see with the naked eye. With the help of technology, you can adjust how the lighting appears in your camera's output.
Your video camera may have been set to "automatic white balance" ever since the day you bought it. Setting the white balance can be tricky, but once you have learned how to adjust it, you will be taking pictures just like a pro. For starters, here are some modes and features that are typically available on camcorders:
- Auto or Automatic White Balance (AWB) is the default setting of your camera. This is suitable for both indoors and outdoors if the flash is on.
- Custom (represented by a dot and two triangles) allows you to pre-set your image using a known gray or another neutral color.
- Kelvin ("K") is a setting where you can adjust the color temperature across a very wide range.
- Tungsten (symbolized by a light bulb), sometimes called the "indoor" setting, adds blue to an image.
- Fluorescent (symbolized by a long rectangle or a fluorescent tube) can be used if your photos appear too green or when you are shooting under fluorescent lights. This setting is designed for the latest daylight-calibrated fluorescents.
- Daylight (symbolized by a sun) provides a softer blue than the tungsten setting. This is ideal for use in direct sunlight.
- Cloudy (symbolized by a cloud) is slightly warmer than the daylight setting and is best used outdoors with indirect sunlight. It adds a touch more warmth than daylight mode.
- Shade (symbolized by a house with its shadow) gives your image a very warm color tone. This is perfect for shooting on a partly cloudy day when most of the light comes from the blue sky instead of the sun. You can also use it whenever you want your images to look warm.
Here are the steps to white-balance your camcorder:
- Camcorders nowadays usually feature a dedicated button for white balance, while others require navigating a menu option. The first step is to read through your camcorder's manual to locate the white-balance button or find out how to access the white-balance menu option.
- To test the white balance of your camcorder, find a white wall or use a plain white piece of paper.
- Test your camcorder by zooming in on the white object. Then, press the white-balance button or select the white balance option from the menu.
Using the various white-balance settings available can significantly improve your images. With these tools, your photos and videos won't look unintentionally blue, orange, yellow, or green.
Understanding White-Balance on Camcorders and Video Recorders
Learn how to use white-balance settings on your camcorder to ensure accurate colors, avoid unwanted color tints, and capture professional-quality footage.
Ever wondered about the white-balance setting on your camera? It is a feature that should be adjusted to make the colors in your images as precise as possible. At its simplest, it makes the whites in your image look just as white as they do in the real scene.
You might notice that some images come out with an orange, blue, or yellow tint that differs from what you see with the naked eye. With the help of technology, you can adjust how the lighting appears in your camera's output.
Your video camera may have been set to "automatic white balance" ever since the day you bought it. Setting the white balance can be tricky, but once you have learned how to adjust it, you will be taking pictures just like a pro. For starters, here are some modes and features that are typically available on camcorders:
- Auto or Automatic White Balance (AWB) is the default setting of your camera. This is suitable for both indoors and outdoors if the flash is on.
- Custom (represented by a dot and two triangles) allows you to pre-set your image using a known gray or another neutral color.
- Kelvin ("K") is a setting where you can adjust the color temperature across a very wide range.
- Tungsten (symbolized by a light bulb), sometimes called the "indoor" setting, adds blue to an image.
- Fluorescent (symbolized by a long rectangle or a fluorescent tube) can be used if your photos appear too green or when you are shooting under fluorescent lights. This setting is designed for the latest daylight-calibrated fluorescents.
- Daylight (symbolized by a sun) provides a softer blue than the tungsten setting. This is ideal for use in direct sunlight.
- Cloudy (symbolized by a cloud) is slightly warmer than the daylight setting and is best used outdoors with indirect sunlight. It adds a touch more warmth than daylight mode.
- Shade (symbolized by a house with its shadow) gives your image a very warm color tone. This is perfect for shooting on a partly cloudy day when most of the light comes from the blue sky instead of the sun. You can also use it whenever you want your images to look warm.
Here are the steps to white-balance your camcorder:
- Camcorders nowadays usually feature a dedicated button for white balance, while others require navigating a menu option. The first step is to read through your camcorder's manual to locate the white-balance button or find out how to access the white-balance menu option.
- To test the white balance of your camcorder, find a white wall or use a plain white piece of paper.
- Test your camcorder by zooming in on the white object. Then, press the white-balance button or select the white balance option from the menu.
Using the various white-balance settings available can significantly improve your images. With these tools, your photos and videos won't look unintentionally blue, orange, yellow, or green.
Understanding White-Balance on Camcorders and Video Recorders
By Howtodotips
Learn how to use white-balance settings on your camcorder to ensure accurate colors, avoid unwanted color tints, and capture professional-quality footage.